Visitors Review

Austin in Wonderland (2012-05-24 19:08)

Some genuine laughs but OVERDONE

Sooooo let me start with something positive. They say that's how you'resupposed to give feedback. .... .... .... Ah yes, the acting was smartand it worked. And there are some GENUINE laughs in this movie. Off ofa few mildly sophisticated jokes. But (there's the but) 90% of thelaughs are gags, over the top, predictable, sexual innuendo, etc etc.The type of stuff a middle schooler would giggle at. There's PUH-LENTYof T&A (mostly T) and way too many F-bombs (I'm talking' like every fewsentences for Ryan Reynolds' character). Did I mention the racialslurs, a couple stabs at the "retarded" (which has also become a fauxpas now), and the abundance of poop? Matter fact, the first threeminutes of this movie satisfy any desire I may have for a poop jokeever again in my life. Yep. It was basically a super R-rated (thoughNOT rated yet), overdone, gratuitous Freak Friday. I guess they felt itwas necessary, considering we've seen this premise done many timesover. Bleh.I DID laugh. I did. Like I said, there were genuine laughs (though waymore gasps). I can definitely see how this is from the same creators asThe Hangover. It's for a Hangover crowd. So if you're in the mood for asimple, raunchy-ish comedy (a la The Hangover), you'll be pleased. Ifnot, skip this and go see Crazy, Stupid Love or even 30 Minutes OrLess. No really.

Paul Haakonsen (2012-05-24 06:29)

A rather good movie...

"The Change-Up" was actually quite nice. Sure the essential story plothave been used many, many times before in other movies, but hey, itworked well enough. And this movie was actually one of the better ofthe changing-body-type of movie.There is a good deal of comedy throughout the movie, and I was laughingout loud a couple of times at some of the scenes. Especially the poopscene in the beginning of the movie, that was hilarious. Actually oneof my favorite scenes in the entire movie.What made "The Change-Up" stand out from other similar movies? Wellthis movie had comedy, as I mentioned, but it also has some reallygood, solid underlying story lines. The movie is heavy on the matter offriendship, trust, love and acceptance. And it tells this and dealswith it in a good way, and doesn't come off as preachy or with a raisedfinger.It was really good to see Ryan Reynolds (playing Mitch Planko) in arole that didn't include spandex and super powers for once. And ofcourse it is always a joy to watch Jason Bateman (playing DaveLockwood) in a movie. Leslie Mann (playing Jamie Lockwood) also did herpart to carry the movie and make it interesting.One thing did puzzle me though. How would the scenes in the kitchenwith the baby brandishing a knife about and the other kid licking theelectrical outlet and almost putting a hand into a blender actuallymake it to (and be accepted) the screen in an American movie?Personally, I don't mind seeing such, as it was all movies and notreal, but I guess those scenes would be inappropriate to some people.I found "The Change-Up" to be a good family with a heartfelt story andit was really well presented and acted out on the screen. Definitelyworth a watch if you enjoy a good comedy, or if you want a good,semi-romantic evening with your cherished one.

vila-ddt (2012-05-23 12:24)

Funniest Movie of the Year HANDS DOWN

Got to see a private screening of this last night and I have to say Iwas thoroughly impressed. This movie has it all! I laughed constantlyand the jokes seemed fresh! Although the concept isn't new, the storywas completely refreshing from other comedies out there...that is why Ithink it will be a success. I highly recommend this film to anyone wholikes the hilarious and raunchy R rated comedies...Another great thing that sets this film apart is the story. Revolvingaround some real "family" issues...the way the humor is played outdoesn't counteract the drama being played out as well. Great story!Great cast! Awesome!!!

samanthasocco25 (2012-05-22 22:23)

Waste of $10

Wow I really don't know how people found this funny. Don't get mewrong, I like stupid humor as much as the next person (Zombieland,Superbad, and The Benchwarmers are all favorites of mine) but this wasjust disgusting and really not funny at all. First off, I don't want tosee a baby's asshole especially when there's sh*t flying from it.Gross. Second, I wouldn't have minded the nudity AS much except for thefact that not once, that's right not even ONCE, did Ryan Reynoldsappear shirtless in this movie. I mean of course it's only the womenthat get naked in front of the camera, that's what makes a successfulmovie today I guess. And I know I'm going to sound like a prude when Isay this, but when Mich makes a comment about the baby looking "downsy"and "retarded" I thought it was a little over the top. I really didn'teven see how it was funny. Anyways if you really want to see this, justwait until it comes out because it's a big waste of $10 in my opinion.Oh and when the porn scene comes up just remember that I warned youabout this movie...

GoneWithTheTwins (2012-05-18 18:21)

It's divertingly vulgar but doesn't have enough substance to entertain beyond a single viewing.

The Change-Up jumps right into bizarre, foul humor to lure audiences inwith pure shock. CG babies are employed for uncomfortable laughs,especially as one unloads his bowels into the mouth of an unsuspectingfather or rapidly beats his head against the bars of a crib likesomething out of The Exorcist. Bathroom jokes are taken to the extreme,hoping that raunchiness will smoothly replace cleverness. So too iscomedy involving children, which practically borders on child abuse(such as teaching jailyard justice to a little girl and allowing babiesto toss around butcher knives or climb into blenders). The trick is alltoo apparent. But with a plot resembling Freaky Friday for adults, theR-rated laughs are necessary for uniqueness – clearly, the story barelypossesses any.In Atlanta, Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds) is something of a failure,having never grown up, living as a high-school dropout in ateen-oriented bachelor pad, fighting bums for furniture, wieldingsamurai swords for fun, smoking weed, and spouting vulgarities. He's aman-child, disrespects his father (Alan Arkin), works as an actor in"lornos" (light pornography), and has a penchant for deviant sex. Hisbest friend Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) lives on the opposite end ofthe spectrum. He prioritizes his work at a law firm, hoping to makepartner, and never has time for himself. Between his twin babies, youngdaughter Cara (Sydney Rouviere), and loving wife Jamie (Leslie Mann),he can't find time to just talk with his family.When Mitch and Dave catch a baseball game, the two chat over their envyof each other's lives, which leads to a drunken urination into amagical fountain. The next morning, the impossible happens – Mitch isin Dave's body and Dave is in Mitch's body. Thinking the solution is torecreate the previous night's inebriated mishaps (like Big), theyjourney back to the fountain, only to discover that it has been movedand that it may take a week or more to learn of its new whereabouts. Atfirst they panic, but then Mitch convinces Dave that they can assumetheir new roles while waiting – after all, Mitch is somewhat of anactor. What could possibly go wrong? The setup is uninspired, but stilla decent method for creating hilarious situations with disastrousconsequences. Fortunately, it never gets so serious that it can'treturn to its comedic roots, although the switched identities shtick iscarried a bit beyond the logical turning point, making the resolutionunrealistic (and tidy) even within the boundaries of pure fantasy. Rolereversals aren't new, but Jason Bateman pretending to be sexuallyuninhibited, preposterously wild and unspeakably crude is a delight towatch, similar to his costar Jennifer Aniston's part in HorribleBosses. He's cast in his usual role, but then assigned to take it inthe opposite direction. This ungentle contrast works well for Bateman,whereas Reynolds simply returns to his Van Wilder days. Coming fromGreen Lantern, it's obvious he's more cut out for coarse comedy thansuperhero tights.Responsibility, family and a career must battle freedom andrecklessness in a classic switcheroo scenario with a twist of nudityand crudity. Mitch learns to be a go-getter and to stop quitting(accomplishment issues are at a high), while Dave gets to take a breakand date smoking hot associate Sabrina McArdle (Olivia Wilde), which issomehow classified as innocent flirtation. He essentially gets avacation. Disquieting secrets are revealed and kinky sexuality explored– it's divertingly vulgar but doesn't have enough substance toentertain beyond a single viewing.- The Massie Twins (GoneWithTheTwins.com)

TheUnknown837-1 (2012-05-18 09:22)

"The Change-Up" is now forerunner, and will likely claim the title as the worst movie of 2011

Gene Siskel, the late film critic for the Chicago Tribune once saidthat there was nothing more depressing to be found at the movies than acomedy without a single laugh. Having suffered through the agonizinghour and fifty-three minutes of gratuitous nudity, masturbation,flatulence, and on-camera human defecation (all meant to be humorous,by the way) that made up the dreadful "The Change-Up," I canconfidently state that he was right. 2011 has not been the best yearfor the motion pictures, but even in the worst that I've seen this year("Transformers: Dark of the Moon" "Atlas Shrugged: Part I," "DarkeningSky," "Shark Night," need I go on) there was at least one redeemingfactor to be found. A scene or two, or perhaps a performance that wascoherent enough to warrant a positive footnote. That is not the casehere.Here, Hollywood seems to have blended a trend from the 1980s with atrend of the new millennium. The former being a comedy where two peopleswitch bodies and try to live each other's lives, the latter being themost disgustingly unfunny methods to produce pseudo-hip comedy. JasonBateman plays a family man with a wife and three children, but is farmore devoted to his job as a big-shot lawyer. His lifelong pal isplayed by Ryan Reynolds as a total loser bent on sex and porno andmaking his feature debut in a soft-core movie. One night, after a fewhours at a bar, they (I kid you not) urinate into a fountain which, ofcourse, has a magical statue of a goddess in it, wish they had eachother's lives, and voila! They wake up the next morning, appalled to beeach other, find out how hard each other's lives was, and all the othercliché checkpoints of the body-switcheroo formula.Exhausted as I am with that sort of film, I would have accepted it hadit been clean-minded and courageous enough to attempt genuine humor.But what it offers instead is absolutely revolting. I knew after thefirst five minutes that "The Change-Up" was going to be horrendous,when (I still kid you not) one of Mr. Bateman's twin babies defecatesinto his mouth and we see the whole process from a shot of the baby'srump. And it was exactly that sort of humor that followed for the restof the picture and not once did I laugh. I never cracked a smile, Inever found myself moved by the obligatory, would-be touching moments,and I was no more interested to hear the sounds of Mr. Reynolds orLeslie Mann (as Mr. Batman's wife) defecating, either. And a would-becomedic moment (another one, yes) with Mr. Reynolds's encounter with apregnant slattern made my stomach turn. The only near-complimentarything about the content is that it holds men and children with just asmuch disregard and distaste as it does women.Feel like heaving, yet? Now you have a clue how I felt the entire timeI was watching this horrendously awful film."The Change-Up," which was limply directed by David Dobkin and writtenby "The Hangover" duo-screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, also'triumphs' at taking deservedly accomplished actors and actresses andmaking them look woodenly untalented. Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Bateman, ineither personality, have about as much chemistry together as twochewed-up pencils on a kindergartener's desktop, and act with even lessconviction. Leslie Mann, a usually beguiling actress, only succeeds atproducing the psychological equivalent of fingernails going down achalkboard. Olivia Wilde, an actress I have praised on many occasions,looks as good as she ever has, but gives a frighteningly amateurishperformance as well. Even Alan Arkin - Alan Arkin, of all people! -does not produce anything worth a positive comment.This film clocks in at just under two hours and it felt so much longerthan that. I started looking at my watch at the twenty-minute mark andI routinely checked it over and over again and when at last the creditsfinally started to roll, I jumped away from my DVD player, walked intothe middle of my dorm room, stretched my hands into the air, spun on myheels, and exclaimed "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" The torture was finallyover and would never, ever have to revisit it again. Not only was Ibored, but I was angry. And what bothered me even more was that I hadonly seen the theatrical version; on the DVD there is an unrated copyas well. I shudder to imagine what extra 'content' could possibly havebeen added to its revolting, stomach-flipping clunk of misanthropicgarbage."The Change-Up" is now forerunner, and will likely claim the title, asthe worst movie of 2011.

Tabitha Reese (2012-05-17 23:42)

This movie was hilarious!!

This was one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time! Ialways check IMDb to see how a movie is rated and when I seen thismovie rated at only 6.4 I was shocked! There are a lot of bad ratingsout there that make no sense! They either don't have a sense of humoror are too old to enjoy it. When I saw this movie was so under-rated, Ihad to had to sign up so I could set the story straight! I'm a big fanof comedies and this is probably my favorite one. It's kind of like thehangover. Every time you watch it, it gets even more funny!! Love themovie, if u haven't seen it, ignore the bad ratings and be prepared tolaugh your a** off:)

franciscoraposo72 (2012-05-17 02:38)

Hilarious Movie, Extremely Entertaining Movie and One of the Best Comedies I've seen in a while!

Let me just start off by saying that this movie was criminallyunderrated, thousands of reviewers gave it negative reviews, but let metell you something, I had a fantastic time, I laughed out loud muchmore than once, the acting was amazing, the plot was a bit of clichébut it was amazing and the movie worked perfectly, The Change-Up is araunchy hilarious comedy with heart. I highly recommend it, you'llmight hear cussing lots of times, you'll might experience lots ofhighly raunchy jokes, but well, you'll just see yourself laughing likea maniac and having an excellent time. Now, let me tell you something,I'm honestly a person with a great taste for movies and I have a veryreasonable list of favorite movies, not only by my point of view andeven though I think this decision might not have been that reasonablefor everyone, I just have no doubts that The Change-Up is my 4thfavorite movies, I mean, I had an excellent time, I was highlyentertaining and I loved everything about it, how could I possibly notgive it a lower rate than 10?Dave (Jason Bateman) is a successful married and a three-son fatheredlawyer. Mitch (Ryan Reynolds), well, he's the opposite, he's a uselessguy that just likes to get high, get laid, stay at home and onlyworking on useless commercials or 'lornos'. Dave and Mitch were bestpals during a long time but time has separate them away. One day, theydecide to meet each other again at a bar. In one night where everythingwas supposed to be like a reunion of best friends drinking some beers,turned into a night where they both mention that they envy each other'slife and when they decide to pee at a fountain, wishing to have eachother's life, next thing they know is seeing themselves waking up ineach others body. Who says men can't change?Body-switch script, who cares? Yes, it has been used, but well, I thinkit was an amazing plot with hilarious details and characters that makeus forget about how stupid body-switch is. I loved this plot and Ithink it was hilarious and amazingly written, it highly surpassesFreaky Friday's plot.David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) did a great job and I'm glad he tookthis plot and he just went for it. Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses) wasfantastic, I always found him really funny and an amazing actor, buthere, they tested how far he could go and oh boy, he went too far,Jason was freaking hilarious, he played two characters and he did aterrific job, he was raunchy, very raunchy indeed, but he was hilariousand I completely loved his performance, his amazing performance. RyanReynolds was fantastic as well, he was hilarious and this wasdefinitely the best role of his entire career, I loved his hilariousraunchy performance, Ryan, let me give you a piece of advice, forgetGreen Lanter, stick to these kinds of comedies, that's what you'reamazing at. Sow, the two central amazing performances by Jason and Ryanare really the ones that stand out, but there was also some solidperformances by the rest of the cast, completed by Leslie Mann, OliviaWilde and Alan Arkin.Sow, ignore the idiotic reviews about this movie, this movie isn't badat all, I highly recommend and it's the best comedy I've seen sinceHorrible Bosses, it's smart, it's raunchy, it's hilarious, it's fun,it's entertaining, it's well-acted and it's hilarious, there's nothinglike The Change-Up, forget the teen comedy Freaky Friday and stick tothe adult R rated comedy The Change-Up, which is completely worth beingwatched and I'll watch it much more times. Watch it if you haven't, ithas everything an amazing comedy needs, I highly recommend it and Ihighly recommend it. I think the reviewers only wanted to play smartguys, I'm sure they liked something, cause from what I've seen, what'sthere not to like? I'm sure they've watched a different version, causethis movie has no flaw, it's flawless, it's perfect, it's my 4thfavorite movie.Mitch's Dad: I'm getting married again and I'd like you to come to thewedding. Mitch: When's the wedding? Mitch's Dad: Next Saturday. Mybetrothed, Pamela, would like you to be there to say a few words.Mitch: I'll catch the next one...

Rockwell_Fassbender (2012-05-15 19:25)

Not as bad as it's made out to be.

The Change-Up was a lot better than it's made out to be. Some reallyhilarious scenes but also a lot of poop jokes that are lowbrow even forit. The entire concept is way too dated and would feel out of place insome ABC sitcom, let alone a full feature, but it's kind of worthwatching just to see Jason Bateman play so against type. He's reallyvulgar and raunchy and it's just a lot of fun to watch him let looseinstead of playing the straight man like always. So a pretty awfulconcept and some bad jokes (the first twenty minutes I kept thinking,"Oh god, this is going to suck.") eventually make way for some solidlaughs and a nice, unique performance from one of my favorite comedicactors.

iamentertainer (2012-05-15 08:29)

Everything new is well forgotten old

Everything new is well forgotten old. Screenplay writers in Hollywoodare quite lazy to invent new stories and that's why for not workinghard they just took an old idea and prescribed new fresh modern jokes.This film is about the exchange of bodies. Russians create 3 or 4 suchfilms already, and in we also can find dozen of such comedies. It canbe changing the bodies of human-being and animal; man and woman; youngand old (actually this one I remember bout clanging 18-year-old and81-year-old grandfather - I liked it). This time everything is easier -We have 2 friends. One is a successful lawyer with his wife, home andfamily and his classmate-reveler-Boy, who lives the way he wants:drugs, cars, alcohol, girls. Everyone can imagine how many jokes canone place in such a situation, but this is Hollywood and there evensome moral lessons are noticed. Although real worth seeing episode isonly the very beginning the film and Olivia Wilde without clothing andin the performance of tattoos on her genitals. If an episode of herboobs is real (they did not show her head, she is nice nice nice!Overall: funny and if you also now have the kids of pampers-age, itwill be funny in a few more times cause you can find yourself outthere.

brando647 (2012-05-14 17:07)

All Shock Value and No Substance, Some Laughs

THE CHANGE-UP, directed by David Dobkin, does something so few moviesI've seen ever do. It actually gets worse each time I watch it. I guessthat sounds harsh, but it's true. Each time I watch the movie, I have aharder time figuring out what I thought was so funny the first time. IfI'd rated it after my first viewing, I guarantee it would've beenhigher. The movie is essentially an R-rated version of a movie we'veseen a hundred times before: an identity swap. Jason Bateman is thestraight man, a married lawyer with three kids who's on the verge ofmaking partner at his firm. Ryan Reynolds is the slacker, a stoned outwannabe actor who makes a living with the occasional commercial or"lorno" (cable-level softcore porn). Each of them has something to envyin regards to the other man's life: Mitch (Reynolds) yearns for hisfriend's success, while Dave (Bateman) wants his friend's totalfreedom. One night, after having a few beers, the two wander across astatue in the park and stop for a quick leak. The two unanimously wishthey had the other man's life and BAM, the next morning they've swappedbodies. You know how it goes from here: Mitch has to try and not messup Dave's marriage and potential promotion, while Dave struggles withhis desire to sleep around and whether or not it still constitutes ascheating on his wife if it's not his body. Minor laughs ensue.When the very first scene in the movie has a baby crapping in JasonBateman's mouth, it pretty much sets the standard for the next twohours. The rest of the movie relies on toilet humor, nudity (whichisn't always a bad thing, though the ladies here are alldigitally-enhanced), and plot turns you can see coming a mile away. Theproblem with doing yet another rendition of the body-swapping storywe've seen a hundred times before is that we've seen it a hundred timesbefore. We know what's going to happen. Each of them will be throwninto drastically different situations than they're accustomed to,they'll struggle, and eventually they'll learn something importantabout their own lives. The end, roll credits. What matters in thesesort of movies is the filler in between the predictable plot points,and the sad fact of the matter is there really isn't anything more herethan shock value laughs. The lorno shoot, Mitch juggling the babiesprecariously in the kitchen in the midnight feeding scene, LeslieMann's thai food surprise, etc. There aren't a whole lot of jokes, justa bunch of stuff that's shockingly amusing. Unfortunately, we becomedesensitized after a while and they become less and less amusing. Justbecause a movie is R-rated doesn't mean the humor needs to rely on fartjokes and the occasional nipple.I really wanted this movie to be funny. An R-rated spin on what'sprimarily been a PG-rated theme was a cool plan, and the cast assembledfor the movie should've been just what it needed. Jason Bateman'salways hilarious and Ryan Reynolds has the potential to be great in amovie (as long as it's a comedy and he's not wearing green CGIspandex). Leslie Mann is tried and true, and Olivia Wilde is gorgeousand I was curious to see how she'd do at comedy after enjoying her workon TV's "House" for so long. But in the end, none of it came togetherlike it was supposed to. The movie ended up being a forgettable flopthat will fall off of the cast's resumes soon enough, I'm sure. If youtruly want to get the most of this movie, watch it only once. The lesssober, the better. That ought to leave you with pleasant enoughmemories of the movie that a second viewing would probably only ruin.Its flaws start to come forward once the shock value has worn off. Themiddle section of the film is way too long and the two friends spendway too much time in each other's bodies. If the filmmakers had managedto cut the movie about a half hour shorter, streamlined the whole thingand jacked up the pace a little, it would've probably been a majorimprovement. Oh, and one final note, they really should've changed thetitle. I can't express how much I don't like the title of the film. Ittruly sounds like they'd run out of ideas for "body-swap" movie titlesand cobbled this one together at the last minute.

Robert Collins (2012-05-14 02:40)

A funny gross out comedy that delivers laughs-a-plenty!

The body switch film is not a very original idea at all, there's beenplenty in the past, It's A Boy Girl Thing, Freaky Friday and mypersonal fave, the Aussie classic Dating The Enemy, this however makesitself stand out from the crowd thanks to it's being a film solelyaimed at adults. There's no way this movie is suitable for anyone under14.Within the first 5 minutes I was laughing hysterically and thatlaughter continued pretty much all throughout the film with theexception of a few slow patches, it really is a great laugh riot. RyanReynolds returns to his comedy roots quite well and Jason Bateman isfunnier in this than anything else I've seen him in. Olivia Wilde is OKas the bad girl but she's kinda unnecessary, Leslie Mann is great inall her type cast glory as the funny wife, I suppose you should do whatyou're good at and she certainly does. All the toilet humor in this movie is hilarious, I usually find thatkind of humor cheap and lame but in this I thought it was hilarious,it's still gross but hey if it makes you laugh it does it's intendedjob. The only real downside to The Change Up is the side plot of RyanReynolds and his relationship with his father, it was kinda useless,and also the extremely long running time, in my opinion comediesshouldn't exceed the hour and a half mark and this film goes for closeto 2 hours, that's far too long for this caliber of film but it keptdelivering the laughs so I guess we can forgive that.There is a lot of fun to be had with The Change Up, just don't watch itif you're grossed out easily or expecting a truly amazing comedy, justtake it for what it is which is a very entertaining adult comedy, withlots of gross out gags and plenty of laughs. Tis' a pretty rad movie.

StacheHunter (2012-05-13 16:43)

The terrible twos: tired and tasteless

Free admission to a movie is not to be taken lightly these days sincethe average ticket is roughly the cost of your mortgage payment. Freeadmission was the only reason I went to see this travesty since afriend had an extra ticket. What is there to say about this movie otherthan it's a premise that has been done to death over the years. There'snothing new here in body-switching land we haven't seen before. Twowildly diverse personalities make a wish and presto! They're now ineach other's body. The characters have to be complete opposites for thecomedy hijinks to begin, right? So, instead of bringing anything new tothis sit-com level flick, the director and writer give us raunch Xinfinity. You can tell you're in trouble when the first sight gag isbaby poop by the gallon. It goes downhill rapidly from there, but whereit ended I didn't see. I left after the "wife on the toilet" gag aboutnot eating Thai food anymore, which you can see in the trailer forfree. When will the public realize that Ryan Reynolds is only the bodyof the moment? He can't act and seems to think every movie he's in is a"Van Wilder" sequel. Everyone else in the cast of this grimy movie isequally bad, somehow equating fecal matter with fun. There's a fetishterm for this kind of behavior that starts with the letter "c", butit's not "comedy".

Robert W. (2012-05-13 11:06)

Not your Mama's Freaky Friday, hilarious and fun but R rated to the core

I am not one to promote or even enjoy gross out crude comedies and theyare a dime a dozen nowadays. Its too easy for film makers in the JuddApatow world to show private body parts, vomit, bodily functions andpass it off as comedy. But every once in awhile it is done right oreven decently okay and it can make you laugh despite being crude. TheChange Up is raunchy. There is no ifs ands or butts about it. You don'tget much raunchier than this but its also fun and will make you laughdespite yourself and the performances of the lead cast are excellentand the chemistry just works really well. This is probably the firstbody swap comedy to go full on R-rated so good for them for mixing itup because any comparisons to Freaky Friday are lost because this isabout as far away from Disney as you can get.I think the success of this film completely lays on the backs of thetwo stars Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman. Both of them are hilariouson their own and together. They do a good job of playing each other andthey make it believable. I think if I had to pick one of them astopping the other Bateman probably turned in the best performance butboth are great. Leslie Mann, who seems to love gross out comedies...ohright she's Apatows wife...plays Bateman's wife Jamie. She does a goodjob, has some funny moments in the movie and even adds a little bit ofemotion. I think she's a versatile actress and while she doesn't shinein the film, she does a good job. Once again Olivia Wilde squeezesherself into a movie where she isn't really necessary. I don't know whybut I liked her on House and then ever since I find her annoying andjust in the way all the time. Her and Reynolds have okay chemistry butI still could have done without her character. Alan Arkin makes a smallcameo that is sort of fun but isn't big enough to make any notes of.Director David Dobkin seems to know comedy well and I think he lets thetalent of Reynolds and Bateman carry the movie and that's all it takesto be a good solid comedy. Once again I re-iterate that if you offendeasily steer clear of this one because it is crude and unapologetic.Still for a guilty pleasure, this one is fun and outrageous and theshock comedy happens to work this time around. Fans of this style ofcomedy (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad etc) will love thisand for good reason. Chemistry saves the day! 8/10

carry-92 (2012-05-13 06:20)

Story seen before? Not like this!

I wasn't sure whether to watch this movie or not. It seemed medium goodand you might think this is some "all been seen before" movie. But fromwhat I can say it's definitely not. Only the main story is about thewhole change up thing as in similar movies like "Freaky Friday". Mostof these movies are about a mother and a daughter though. This one isabout 2 good friends who have known each other for a long time but areyet completely different. One is the family guy, 3 kids, a wife, ahouse, a job as a lawyer. He got everything he ever could dream of. Theother guy is nothing like this. No girlfriend, just affairs, a singleapartment, he's still kind of a boy inside. When they get changed-upit's a total chaos! How should a single guy know how to take care of awhole family with 2 little babies? How is he supposed to know how to bea lawyer? Really funny moments there. The other one doesn't knowanything about being single. Even though they both wanted this lifethey see how much it sucks for them. They step from one mistake toanother and can't manage to do anything right at the beginning. Andthey also find out things about each other they never knew and thingsabout themselves. All this in a really funny way. Only thing I didn't like was that the movie seemed to be endless. Ifelt like I spent 4 hours watching it cause some scenes might have beena little long. I wouldn't take out anything for the story nor thelaughs though, so just -1 point for this.

JonnyHavey (2012-05-12 17:02)

Freaky Friday: Mindless Fun Finally

The summer of 2011 has been ruled by R-rated comedies loosely based onraunch with very rewarding stories ("Bridesmaids" "Paul" "HorribleBosses"). Therefore, "The Change-Up" had a lot to live up to with JasonBateman taking control of the comedy genre this year and Ryan Reynoldsreturning to his forte after "The Green Lantern" flop. With this beingsaid, "The Change-Up" was the mindless, uninspired, fulfilled film ofthe summer, relying solely on going above and beyond the usual limitsof blunt humor and rallying with a fulfilling emotional finish. Thisgrownup application of the "Freaky Friday" phenomenon follows bestfriends Dave Lockwood (Bateman) and Mitch Planko (Reynolds) who havedrifted apart over the years. Dave has always been a workaholicallowing him to become a rich successful lawyer with a beautiful wife,Jamie (Leslie Mann, "Funny People"), and three kids. Mitch is thecomplete opposite with a very laid back life style as an aspiring actorwho smokes weed and lives off one night stands. As the two reconnectwith a night full of drinking and peeing in a fountain they wish thatthey had each other's lives. Nothing logical happens at this point aslightning strikes causing Dave and Mitch to experience the other'slife. Starting with an hour of laugh out loud vulgar comedy and endingwith an emotional wakeup call to what is important in life, the film isall over the place. However, everything seems to come together asOlivia Wilde ("Cowboys and Aliens") tops this male-comedy flick offwith some good old sexiness.Both Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are outrageous with theirportrayals of Mitch mixing cursing and sporadic randomness. Theridiculousness of Mitch is offset by calmer comedy found in Dave tryingto find himself within his self-reliant role he is stuck in. This isoffset even further by a very dramatic performance by Leslie Mann, whois legitimately, scarily and realistically good as a mother wanting herhusband to give her attention. Lastly, Olivia Wilde deserves a nod forher satisfyingly sensual performance sexier than ever.Please prepare yourself and know what you are getting into when goingto see this film. The R-rating is rightfully earned with crudity aboundand some jokes based on sore subjects. This film is not for everybodyand when it comes down to it, the film is all over the place. The filmlacks some fluidity as the emotional ending is set up slowly within theextreme continuous comedy in a very predictable manner. Ultimately,neither the comedy routine nor the storyline brings anything fresh tothe adult comedy genre making this film only average.A bellyful of laughs at the start, and an offbeat emotional conclusionawkwardly works in this late summer comedy even though we have seen allof this before and are better off hitting up the three aforementionedcomedies for entertainment.

Hazzah (2012-05-11 17:32)

The Change-Up

Thanks to the fine people at Klout.com, I was able to get to see arough cut of the movie "The Change-Up" starring Jason Bateman, RyanReynolds, and Leslie Mann (she of Apatow fame.) Hilarious. Much MUCHbetter than I expected. Of course, this is the type of film better seenwith a filled theater.Of course it's a hard 'R' for vulgarity, nudity, and everything youexpect in a sex-themed comedy. The trailers don't shy away from that.One always expects great comedic timing from the likes of Reynolds andBateman. However, in these roles they truly do something different.Bateman gets to be the raunchy one. He finally gets to let loose.Reynolds holds back as the straight-laced guy who's more of a thinker.Leslie Mann was the true surprise in the film. I hope Judd Apatowwatches this "The Change-Up" and realizes one thing; THIS is how youwrite for/use your wife in your films. Leslie can act! She takes theotherwise tiresome 'wife' role and turns it into something a littledeeper.Olivia Wilde plays the unfortunate part of 'that girl.' She's not thereto serve much purpose throughout the flick, but her story is summed upnicely. But sweet merciful GOD does she look fantastic with very darkhair! Anyway, it's a great flick. I suggest you go see it, you'll enjoyit. It's not your typical "body swap" movie (ala "Freaky Friday," "ViceVersa," "Like Father, Like Son.") plus I believe it has more heart thanany of those three.

nickmesafilms (2012-05-11 00:32)

The Change-Up (2011) - It's a Really Bad Idea to Pee in a Fountain and Make a Wish!

Everybody just adores the body-switching comedy! Only this time, it'sfamily man Jason Bateman and bachelor Ryan Reynolds doing the classic"switch-a-roo"! Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds play Dave and Mitch, abunch of best buddies that both dream about having each other's lives.With Mitch wishing for Dave's happy-parenting life, and Dave wishingfor Mitch's bachelor life. After a drunken night out on the town, theyboth pee in a fountain, and wished for each other's lives. So now Daveis in Mitch's body, and Mitch is in Dave's body. Then, the next thingyou know, Mitch as Dave screws up with the family and his law job, andDave as Mitch experiences the bachelor life, while hooking up with hislong-time crush, his new law partner named Sabrina, portrayed by OliviaWilde. Now, all I can say is that the movie isn't that bad! There isactually better expectations when this movie provides a funny scriptwith a heart, and two hilarious performances by Bateman and Reynolds.Bateman and Reynolds are one of the best buddies in a buddy film I haveever seen on the big screen. They provide a friendly chemistry, and itwas nice to see these two faces in a movie. Leslie Mann is pleasant asDave's wife, Alan Arkin has some light-hearted scenes as Mitch'sfather, but I loved Olivia Wilde in this movie as Sabrina, thetemptress who works with Mitch...I mean Dave (you know what I mean).This film has it's stupid and gross-out moments, but besides that, thismovie also has some heartwarming messages of not knowing what you haveuntil it's gone. This movie is a fun, entertaining film with somerunning laughs, and heartwarming messages. By the way, this movie israted "R" for a reason, since this movie is even more graphic andraunchy than it was in the trailers. Just sending a little warning.This film has it's moments, and it never disappoints, since this is araunchy "rated-R" flick. "The Change-Up", in my review, "entertaininglyhilarious, and has heartwarming moments".

Stephen Cook (2012-05-10 03:17)

A raunchy comedy with flawed humor, but commendable acting

Dave (Bateman) and Mitch (Reynolds) envy each other's lives. To Mitch,Dave leads a successful and contented life, working at a prestigiouslaw firm and surrounded by a loving family. To Dave, Mitch is livingthe dream: a stress and commitment-free joyride full of drugs, booze,and strange new women. After the childhood friends reunite at a bar,they decide to pee into a fountain while simultaneously wishing for theother's life. Naturally, the act causes them to magically switch bodiesthe next morning. It then becomes a race against time to find the samefountain and reverse the effects before their respective lives areruined for good. However, as the hunt continues, Dave and Mitchdiscover that even though the other's life is not as dreamy as they hadinitially imagined, seeing things from a new perspective reveals whatthey had overlooked in their own.So after a drunken night, a couple of men wake up to a disaster and"proceed to freak the ---- out". Sound familiar? Yes, The Change-upfeatures the same writers as from The Hangover, and like its spiritualpredecessor, gleefully abuses its right to a hard R-rating. The moviejumps at every chance to spew out foul language and full frontalnudity. But around every corner comes the awful toilet humor.(Literally.) Without fail each joke is followed up by a string of cursewords or disgusting crude humor. Clearly, The Change-Up relies heavilyon shock value to produce some cheap laughs, but this is to be expectedof The Hangover's creative minds. Unfortunately, what worked for TheHangover does not always work here. This kind of humor fit The Hangoverperfectly simply because the movie had a persisting theme ofridiculousness and never took itself too seriously. On the other hand,in its latter half The Change-Up tends to lean toward its dramatic sideand realizes too late that crude jokes have begun to feel out of place.Even so, none of the comedic parts of this film would fly without thetalent of its lead actors. The weight of the movie relies on Reynoldsand Bateman's ability to portray "each other", and without drawingattention to the fact; they deliver quite nicely. The personality swapbetween professional lawyer and immature jock is seamless and remainssuccessfully low-key for the duration of the film. Since the switchedpersonalities represent the most interesting parts, though, the movielags immensely in the beginning and end. Olivia Wilde and Leslie Mannare fine playing the tempting secretary/wife, but regrettably do notserve much more of a purpose in the movie after their clothes come off.The Change-Up is a raunchy comedy that follows in the footsteps of themore worthy 'The Hangover'. Complete with wildly annoying infants,incidents involving diarrhea, and adventures in the 'lorn' industry, itis a shock-and-show roller-coaster. Entertaining, perhaps… but just beaware of what you're walking in to. 6/10

vespaman66 (2012-05-09 14:59)

Should have known better..

Nothing new under the sun. This movie made me yawn more than twice. Wemeet two friends that accidentally switches body, one stupid looser andone less stupid (lawyer). Being 'switched' they decide to stand in foreach other, and does one stupid thing after another - I mean can anyonerelate to the looser? The looser somehow pulls himself together and bythe end of day two(?) seams to have grasped everything about the bigbusiness merger/takeover that his friend had been working for in monthsand becomes the hero. Someone wrote that this is adult humor? Adult?Humor? Stupid, stupid film. Had it been made some 30 years ago, I'd bemore forgiving, but today?The score of two goes to the fact that the actors are good looking, anddoes what they can with the awfully boring script.